Dead Man Walking
by Aleia15
Summary: If they want me dead, Ichigo, I'm dead.You kill me. I'd rather go down fighting you than wait to be executed by them." GrimmjowIchigo


**Dead Man Walking**

"The decision is final, Kurosaki-kun."

And so was the tone of Yamamoto-soutaichou's words. He had known since the beginning it was a lost cause; that didn't mean he was going to accept it or go down without a fight.

"It's not fair," he insisted, fists clenched tightly at his sides, expression stubborn and defiant, "he saved me, he helped us defeat Aizen and this is how we thank him?"

The old man regarded him with something like pity for an instant, which only made Ichigo angrier.

"Kurosaki-kun, don't make him a saint. He saved your life only to fight you, and he helped us against Aizen only to save his life."

"For all it has served him," Ichigo mumbled, but there was nothing he could say to refute that.

"It's decided, the Espada Grimmjow Jaggerjack will be executed tomorrow morning. The decision is not in my hands, Kurosaki-kun, but I will personally see to it that this sentence is enforced." The old man raised a hand to stop his protest and turned, leaving Ichigo fuming and feeling strangely empty inside.

He turned on his heel and left. 

Renji and Rukia were waiting for him outside the 1rst Division Taisha.

"How did it go?" Rukia asked. Ichigo just shook his head. Around them the noise and laughs of hundreds of Shinigami celebrating the end of the war reached deafening levels making Ichigo's blood boil. There was nothing to celebrate.

"Come," Renji grabbed his arm and dragged him somewhere. Ichigo wasn't really interested in going to any party, but he followed Renji's lead without asking, his mind going over and over the unfairness of Soul Society laws.

Yes, Grimmjow was an Espada, a Hollow. He was the enemy and, as such, had to be put down. More than that, he was a bloodthirsty beast most of the time, but the only person that should be bothered by that was Ichigo. It was him Grimmjow wanted to fight, so no one else should be troubled by him.

But Soul Society didn't see things like that.

He didn't realize they had reached their destination until he bumped against Renji.

"Where--" Ichigo did a double take, thanking whoever was in charge up there for having good friends like Renji and Rukia.

Hitsugaya was standing in front of the 10th Division Taisha door, a look of impatience on his face.

"You have an hour, Kurosaki," he said stepping aside so Ichigo could enter the building, "I don't care what you do there. I'll seal the place after that time, regardless of who is inside the cell."

He nodded. "Thank you, Toushirou."

"It's Hitsugaya-taichou."

Ichigo ignored the half-hearted protest and went inside. He was almost expecting the cell to be empty, and was disappointed to see that Grimmjow had not left the place when he had the chance.

Grimmjow looked up when he entered. "I knew you'd come, Shinigami," he said from his position sitting on the bare bed.

"Why are you still here, Grimmjow? They're going to execute you tomorrow."

"I know." Grimmjow stood up. "We have time for a fight."

Ichigo's control snapped almost loudly in the room, "What? They want to kill you and you want to fight? Are you fucking stupid, Grimmjow?"

Grimmjow smirked, "They're not going to kill me, Shinigami."

"Yes they are. And stop calling me that!"

"Fight me then, _you_ kill me if you can."

Ichigo couldn't believe his ears. He had been arguing with Yamamoto for hours to save this idiot's life and the only thing he said was that?

"You are insane," he said suddenly not wanting to be in the room with him anymore. He turned to leave, that was a waste of time. If Grimmjow wasn't bothered by it, why should Ichigo?

He didn't get far. Grimmjow was blocking his path, his expression serious for the first time he could remember.

"If they want me dead, Ichigo, I'm dead," he said, "It doesn't matter where I go. I can't go back to Hueco Mundo and they will find me anywhere else. You kill me. I'd rather go down fighting you than wait to be executed by them."

Ichigo closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He knew Grimmjow was right, but still-- "It's not fair," he said.

"Fair has nothing to do with this, Ichigo. You should know." And did Grimmjow need to look at him with pity as well? He was the one sentenced to death, why was Ichigo the only one feeling bad about it?

"You could leave, Hitsugaya left you an opening," he said. He had been shocked to realize some of the shinigami, some of his friends, also felt the sentence was unfair.

"No. I won't spend the rest of my life hiding or running away. Fight me."

"No."

Grimmjow glared at him.

"Fight me, damn it!"

"No!"

Grimmjow grabbed the front of his hakama and slammed him against the wall, his face mere inches from Ichigo's. "Fight!"

"Fuck off, Grimmjow. I don't want to. Let's get away from here!"

"Where to? You don't get it, Ichigo," Grimmjow was looking at him with that alien expression again, much to Ichigo's annoyance, "I'm not a coward, I won't run away. And anyway, if you had finished our last fight properly, this wouldn't be happening."

That did it; furious, Ichigo pushed Grimmjow away from him. "Excuse me for not killing you, you fucker. You know, stay here and wait for Yamamoto or whoever to kill you if you are so eager to die. I don't have time for you."

Grimmjow blocked his path again, "Why did you come if you don't want to fight me? To comfort me? I don't need it."

It was Ichigo's turn to glare. "I know."

Grimmjow closed the distance between the two of them, stopping in front of him, their bodies almost touching. "Why did you come, Ichigo?" Grimmjow leaned closer, his breath ghosting over Ichigo's face. He closed his eyes, leaning forward almost unconsciously.

"I don't kn--" he trailed off with a sigh when Grimmjow's mouth touched his ear.

"Let me fuck you, Ichigo. That's the reason you're here, not to fight but to fuck. Am I right?"

Ichigo's eyes snapped open; he stared blankly at the wall and held his breath.

"Yes," he finally whispered.

"Good."

Grimmjow pushed him backwards until the back of his knees hit the small bed; Ichigo went down and lay on it, Grimmjow climbing on top of his body immediately.

He still wasn't sure that was what he wanted, but it seemed his body knew by the way it was responding to the lips on his neck and the hands on his torso. Ichigo arched up, trying to get more contact when Grimmjow licked a path down to his collarbone. It was weird being treated with such gentleness, and it was not what he needed at all.

"Grimmjow," he rasped, "don't you dare go soft on me just because you're a dead man."

A chuckle. "You want it rough, Ichigo?"

"Yes. Make it hurt."

God, he was so sick. But it was going to be the last time: he didn't want any gentle memories of Grimmjow, didn't need the strange feelings those kisses were stirring on his body. He wanted it to be like it had always been before: painful, raw, and violent. The way it should be between them.

"My pleasure."

It was all teeth and nails and rough hands and bruising kisses and blood after that. Ichigo responded with socking intensity, biting and scratching and moaning and clinging to Grimmjow's lean body. He didn't mind when his hakama was ripped from his body, the friction of cloth against skin burning him. He clawed at Grimmjow's jacket and dumped it on the floor, the rest of their clothes following immediately.

He grabbed Grimmjow's head and pulled him down for another brutal kiss, flipping them on the bed and pinning him with his body, his hands touching everything within his reach, his legs straddling Grimmjow's.

"Are you going to fuck me or ride me, Ichigo?" Grimmjow asked a smile in his voice.

He didn't have the chance to answer, or even decide what he was going to do. Grimmjow's hands grabbed his hips and guided him, positioning him on top and pushing down, entering him in one brutal, painful thrust.

Ichigo stiffened, all his body freezing in agony.

"Fuck!"

"You wanted it to hurt, didn't you?"

Ichigo took a deep breath and nodded, glaring at him. Grimmjow's smirk widened.

Ichigo bent forward, closing his mouth over Grimmjow's and biting hard. Grimmjow thrust up, still holding his hips and they began to move fast.

He knew they didn't have much time, Hitsugaya might come back any minute and the idea of being caught like that didn't appeal to Ichigo at all, so he didn't hold back, riding Grimmjow furiously, his mind focused only on the psychotic Espada under him and the pleasure that probably was somewhere waiting for him in the middle of all the pain.

And there it was, finally. Grimmjow's hand closed over his cock and began stroking him in time with his thrusts; Ichigo groaned grinding his arse down harder and faster, tense with want and need.

He came with a howl, Grimmjow still hard inside him, his strength spent. Then he was with his back on the bed again, Grimmjow pounding into him while he tried to catch up his breath.

He almost didn't feel when Grimmjow came, his body numb from pain and exhaustion.

"That was good, Ichigo. We have to repeat it," Grimmjow's words took him back to reality, and he glared at him, to tired to do anything else.

Ichigo got up gingerly from the bed and picked up his clothes, putting them on and arranging them as best he could.

"Hitsugaya and the rest will be back soon, I have to leave," he said, not looking at Grimmjow. "Good bye."

He left the room wondering why the hell he was feeling so empty when he should be glad of not seeing the fucker again.

Rukia and Renji were still outside when he came out and both of them looked at him concerned when they saw the state he was in.

"Ichigo! What happened in there?" Rukia asked, approaching him only to be stopped by Renji's hand on her arm.

"Were you fighting?" Renji asked raising a tattooed eyebrow.

Ichigo wondered how he looked like. There was probably a fair amount of blood on his skin and clothes, almost as if he did come from a fight. He smiled grimly.

"No. We were celebrating. Our own dark celebration."

…

Ichigo stared at his bedroom ceiling, moodily thinking over and over again about the same.

It was almost noon.

Grimmjow was probably dead by now.

He had left Soul Society in the night, not wanting to stay for the execution. Even if there was nothing he could do to stop it, he had no intention to stay and watch. Or he might try something stupid.

It was better if he stayed away from Soul Society and its ridiculous laws.

A knock on his window brought him back to the present, and he turned to open it expecting Renji or Rukia to be there with the news.

He wasn't expecting to see Grimmjow, alive--after a fashion--and smirking.

"What??"

"Glad to see me, Shinigami?"

Ichigo stared, mouth agape and the breath stuck on his throat. He _was_ glad to see him, though he would never admit it.

"How--Why--?"

Grimmjow jumped inside the room, sitting down on the bed uninvited.

Ichigo moved to the bed as well and dropped on it, unconsciously extending a hand to touch Grimmjow, to make sure he was really there.

"I don't understand."

Grimmjow smirked, "Yesterday, before you showed up, one of your shinigami friends told me they were going to appeal to the Central Chamber. He said something about owing you and fighting against unfair laws."

Ichigo blinked. He couldn't mean Byakuya, could he?

"He was quite surprised not seeing you today for the appeal, but he convinced them I was not a threat to anyone but you. They've banned me from Soul Society, as if I had any interest in being there. So I'll be living here from now on, since I can't go back to Hueco Mundo either."

But Ichigo wasn't really listening to what he was saying.

_Before you showed up._

"You knew," he said glaring.

"I told you they wouldn't execute me." Grimmjow's smirk was infuriating, and Ichigo realized what an idiot he had been the night before, letting him do whatever he wanted.

"You bastard! You knew and yet you--" words failed him. And he had been worried about Grimmjow! He reached for him, the dull ache on the lower part of his body remind him of the previous night and making his blood boil. "Grimmjow!" he growled.

Grimmjow laughed, standing up from the bed and moving to the window.

"Angry enough to fight me now, Shinigami?"

He jumped out still laughing, leaving Ichigo speechless for a second. When the words reached his mind Ichigo stood up went after him, his sword already in his hands.

"I'll fucking kill you, Grimmjow!"

…


End file.
